International Journal of Business and General

Management (IJBGM)
ISSN (P): 2319–2267; ISSN (E): 2319–2275
Vol. 11, Issue 2, Jul–Dec 2022; 1–10
© IASET

LIVING CONDITIONS OF FEMALE MAIDSERVANTS IN INFORMAL SECTORS – A

CASE STUDY AT ILKAL, BAGALKOT DISTRICT, KARNATAKA

Ajit K Bijjal & Dr. Robin Manohar Shinde2

1
Assistant Professor, SVMVVSS Institute of Management Studies, Ilkal, Bagalkot, Karnataka, India
2
Ph.D, Department of Management, MHRM, NET & Assistant Professor, SRINIVAS College of Management and Comers,
Karnataka, India

ABSTRACT

India is a rich country with poor people. We come across with the living conditions of the formal sector are better than the
informal sectors. It is essential to search for a job for a lively hood for the maidservants and especially for female
maidservants. Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the then prime minister of India introduced “GRIBI HATAVO”.

The present prime minister introduced the NAREGA SYSTEMS with guaranteed minimum wages for informal
sector workers and maidservants and also at the free cost given gas connection under Ujjwala scheme to the female
members of the household to improve the living conditions. Compare to the pre-independence and post-independence and
the modern present situation the female maidservants are more and they come out from their house for the lively hood.

According to the census report, it is raised to 3% in totality from the past 10 years survey. Improvement in the
field of education, employment, attitudes, behaviour especially in female maidservants. Government schemes sometimes
create idle thinking among female maidservants. It is observed that Young unmarried maidservants are more in the society
and for want of money even they are not interested forced to work. North zone area consists of the more female
maidservant

KEYWORDS: Living Conditions of Maidservants –Informal Sector, Urbanization

Article History
Received: 11 Jul 2022 | Revised: 14 Jul 2022 | Accepted: 15 Jul 2022

INTRODUCTION

The upper-class society ill-treated the lower income group of people or below the poverty line group of people.

The people who stay at one ok place and execute the job is called as formal sector and people who are searching
for a job each day at different places is called informal sector workers. A female domestic worker in the Victoria era was
the second-largest domestic employment in India. It was continued in all the places and if the work is not suitable for the
maidservants, they use to change the masters. Maidservants have agreed to all the jobs whatever the master assigns without
refusing even a single work and ill-treat them also.

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2 Ajit K Bijjal & Dr. Robin Manohar Shinde

The living condition is very pitiful and unimaginable. Hence the necessity arises for employment for survival

The women have restrictions to not live in the house at any cost. Those days have gone and entered the field of
competition world for employment along with male-dominant workers.

The global witness the total change in the attitudes, values, aspirations, and ways of feeling and acting the
effective participation in all walks of life. The female maid servant’s contribution to society is witnessed in all the walks of
life in the entire globe.

Now Days men are also very cooperative for the said purpose. The economic condition has improved gradually
as employment opportunities are created with reservation policies in both formal and informal sectors. Female maid
servants have a lot of challenges in the work and sometimes very miserable conditions from every corner make her take the
decision to continue or sustain the tortures. Formal sectors are covered by various legislations and Acts whereas informal
sectors will not register at all and how to identify them? There is no roaster for female maidservants. The government made
an attempt to improve their living conditions on a case-to-case basis because 94% of employed belongs to informal sectors.

Why they responsibilities say master will be held responsible even subordinate or servants commit a mistake.
There is no maidservant’s association in the present society

LITERATURE REVIEW

 Saradevi 1985: in her book “working conditions of female maidservants” page no 14 printed and published at
Sara printers and publishers in France explained very clearly that maidservants will start to work as early as
possible starting from 5-00 AM and work till night 9-00 PM almost every day and occasionally extended working
hours on functions and special events on the master’s house. One of the restless people or most busy people for
the society.

 Sharanya Mathaji 2016 in her book titled “Maidservant’s Economic Conditions” page no 9 and 26 printed and
published at Lakshmi Printers and publishers, Bangalore indicated that female maidservants will start work at
home and proceed to some other house which is agreed to do the home works such as cleaning the house with
broomsticks, wash with water.

 Outside the house pore water and put the rangoli wash utensils and wash clothes, prepare breakfast and lunch in
two or three houses and come back and take care of the children and family members again they may go to the
houses to prepare snacks for the evening and dinner meals by that the maidservant will exhaust her energy and go
the bed for sleep. In spite of this, they earn only a meagre amount, and if they demand more money, they may lose
an opportunity to work also. Their living condition is pretty pitiable.

 John Kith Heart 1999: quoted those formal and informal sectors are two groups of employment

 Factories Act 1948: Formal sectors are to be registered as an industry with the aid of power 10 and without the aid
of power 20 where the labourers work otherwise it is called informal sectors.

Impact Factor (JCC): 7.4543 NAAS Rating 3.51

Living Conditions of Female Maidservants in Informal Sectors – A Case Study At Ilkal, Bagalkot District, Karnataka 3

Urbanization

 The socio-economic transformation of Indian society in the present century and especially in the post-
independence period in the form of industrialization, urbanization, westernization, the spread of education, and
enhanced employment opportunities for female maidservants have brought about a series of perceptible changes
in the status, outlook, work view and attitudes especially educated middle-classfemalemaidservants and women in
general.

Work Participation Rate

 More maidservants are coming out of the four walls of their home in search of gainful employment which is
evident from the slow but steadily rising with a minimum of 3% from the past 10 years.

Informal Sector – Maidservants

 In the formal sector, women have tremendous work pressure and are not available to do their own jobs and hence
they depend on the maidservants to finish the day-to-day jobs starting from brooming the dust, cleaning the house,
washing clothes, and utensils. Even they have to care for the babies as a full-time worker.

 The women have to go to the office for their employment and the work to be done simultaneously such as
sending the baby to school, bathing, dressing preparing breakfast, and making them eat they have time constraint
hence dependency is must otherwise they have to leave their job. within the salary they earn is to be shared as a
subcontract of the employment to the maidservants and hence they may offer only less salary or wages.

Table 1: Female Maidservant Work Schedule and Action Plan Time Zone 24 Hours
Occasional/Emergency
Sl No Time Full-Time Workers Part-Time Workers
Workers
Rises, collect water and cleans
1 05 Rises own house prepare Breakfast Rises
for family members
Engaged in domestic
Go to the workplace, engage in
tasks, washing clothes,
domestic tasks, washing Goes to work and engage in
cleaning room, wash,
2 07 clothes, cleaning room, wash, domestic work tasks for a few
outside the house pour
outside the house pour water days
water and put rangoli,
and put rangoli, wash utensils
wash utensils
3 08 Prepares Breakfast Prepare food at work place1
4 10 Does Other works Does other works
5 12 Prepare food for lunch Attends workplace 2 and works
Return Home and cook for
6 13 Takes food
family
Wash utensils and
7 14 Takes rest
sweeps room
Attends workplace 3 washes
8 15 Takes rest
clothes, utensils, cleaning etc
9 17 Prepare evening Tiffin Returns home Return Home
Prepare food and feed to
10 19 Prepare Dinner Takes food and goes to Bed
children
Takes food and goes to
11 21 Takes food and goes to Bed
Bed

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4 Ajit K Bijjal & Dr. Robin Manohar Shinde

SCOPE AND NATURE OF THE STUDY

 Time is taken to interact with Ilkal city female maidservants and to understand their living conditions by analysing
and exploring the possibility to make them overcome the problems by suggesting to the policymakers

 Demographic information helped to identify the living conditions of the female maidservants

Statement of the Problem

The study titled “Living conditions of female maidservants in informal sectors – A case study at Ilkal, Bagalkot District,
and Karnataka”

The Objective of the Study

 To identify the living conditions of the female maidservants

 To identify the need for employment to the maidservants

 To identify the major difference between the maidservants employed in the formal and informal sector

Source of Data

Primary Data was collected by framing a structured questionnaire and a few secondary sources of data from other
literature, networks, etc.,

Sample Size

100 samples selected from simple random sampling in and around ILKAL city

Research Design

The structured questionnaire is framed and distributed and explained in the local language and collected the data on one-to-
one information. Exploratory, descriptive, and analytical research methods were employed for the study

Limitation

 For the study purpose only maidservants of Ilkal city considered

 Only informal sector is taken for study

Impact Factor (JCC): 7.4543 NAAS Rating 3.51

Living Conditions of Female Maidservants in Informal Sectors – A Case Study At Ilkal, Bagalkot District, Karnataka 5

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONS

Table 1: Workers Participation in Ilkal City

Full- Part- Occasional Percentage
Time Time Workers
Worker worker

North 76 20 4 100

east 70 20 10 100

west 72 22 6 100

South 65 30 5 100

Source: Survey Data Collected from Respondents

INTERPRETATION

Full-time maidservants are more compared to part-time maidservants and the least importance is given to occasional
maidservants. And in an average north zone area receives more female maidservants and south zone is the least and east
and west follows as per sequences of NEWS (N= North, E=East, W=West, and S=south).

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6 Ajit K Bijjal & Dr. Robin Manohar Shinde

Table 2: Distributions of Respondents by Age

No of Respondents

Less than 18 35
18 - 20 30
20-25 15
25-30 05
30-40 04
40 and above 11
Source:Survey Data Collected from Respondents

Interpretation

From the chart, it is observed that less than the age of 18 are more female maidservants followed by the age group between
18-20, 20-25, 40 and above, respectively.

Table 3: Distribution of Respondents according to their Living Condition of Marital Status

No of respondents

Unmarried 60
Married and living together 15
widowed 9
Separated 8
Deserted 2
Divorced 6
Source: Survey Data Collected from Respondents

Interpretation

From the above it is been observed that the Unmarried female respondents fond dominant which constitutes 60% followed
by Married, widowed, separated, divorced, and deserted. Unmarried has a significant role in the female maidservants in
Ilkal city.

Impact Factor (JCC): 7.4543 NAAS Rating 3.51

Living Conditions of Female Maidservants in Informal Sectors – A Case Study At Ilkal, Bagalkot District, Karnataka 7

Table 4: Distribution of Respondents According to Reasons of Indebtedness

No of respondents

Day to day expenses 40

Buying consumable items 13
Purchasing furniture and fixtures 10
Functions marriage, guests’ arrival etc 29
Death in family 8
Source: Survey Data Survey Data Collected from Respondents

Interpretation

It is observed from the chart that female maidservants borrow money for day-to-day expenses with 40% followed by any
functions such as marriage with 29%, purchasing of consumable items with 13%, and purchase of furniture, fixtures, tv,
washing machines, etc with 10% and with least 8% for death in the family.

Table 5: Distribution of Respondents According to their Job Satisfaction

No of respondents

Completely Satisfied 40
Regular work no choice and no comments 8
Unsatisfied 52
Source: Survey Data Survey Data Collected from Respondents

Interpretation

It is noted from the chart that 40% of female maidservants are satisfied with their work and 52% of maidservants not
satisfied in their work and only 8 % are neutral.

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8 Ajit K Bijjal & Dr. Robin Manohar Shinde

Table 6: Distribution of Respondents According to their Sources of Borrowing

No of respondents

Banks & Financial Institutions 10

Money Lenders 50
Employers 18
Relatives 12
Friends 10
Source: Survey Data Survey Data Collected from Respondents

Interpretation

Moneylenders have more influence on female maidservants because 50% are borrowing money from them and followed by
Employers, and relatives. This has 18% and 12%. 10% equally shared by banks and financial institutions and friends.

Table 7: Distribution of Respondents according to Reasons of Dissatisfaction

No of respondents

Low wages 60
Heavy workload 10
Bad Treatment by employer 15
Time-consuming 8
No leisure time 7
Source:Survey Data Survey Data Collected from Respondents

Interpretation

From this chartlow wages isthe major reason for dissatisfaction 60% of the female maidservants come under this category
and no leisure time is 7% which is the least reason followed by Bad treatment with 15%, heavy workloads 10% and time-
consuming is 8%.

Impact Factor (JCC): 7.4543 NAAS Rating 3.51

Living Conditions of Female Maidservants in Informal Sectors – A Case Study At Ilkal, Bagalkot District, Karnataka 9

Findings

 Majority of the female maidservants are relatively young and unmarried and less than 18 years of age followed by
the age group of 19 to 20 years.

 Majority of female maidservants are very poor and illiterates

 Majority of female maidservants work for the protection of family

Suggestions and Conclusions

 The contribution of the female maidservants to an individual house people is acknowledged not only in ILKAL
but the entire world. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the government to frames some legislation in the absence
of legislation.

 Empower the female maidservant economically. Treat the maidservants as their family members. Support them
when it is required. Create a governing body and Boards separately and ask each informal sector worker to enrol
compulsory.

 Since the earning members are fewer and eating members are more it imbalance in the living conditions. Advise
extending some time for entertainment so that they also will be happy. A healthy worker is a productive worker. .
If you waive off the loans borrowed by them they will become lazy. See the extract below.

 The conversation by two young girls and depicts their attitude. Judge in each case and extend the helping hand
only for the deserved people and not to everybody.

 Very interesting fiction. Perhaps, you never stayed in villages and see how these freebies work. Farmers are
demanding the minimum support price and not few thousand as free. For example, paddy as per MSP should be
purchased at 1850 but now in the market, it is purchased at Rs. 1200. for every bag, the farmer is losing Rs. 650.
How many freebies can cover the loss? All crops are like that. Price at the farmer and market price has a large
gap. Who is getting benefitted? Think over.

 Unfortunately, even the highly educated people think the government gets tax only through employee income tax.
In the total tax, income tax is only a fraction. Every person, poor or rich, coolie or CEO, whenever they
purchase something, pays tax through merchants. Whether the merchant pays all the collected tax to the
Government is, though, doubtful.

 Please do not spread incorrect messages about villagers.

REFERENCES

1. Maajid Abdul. 2000. Legal protection to unorganized labour. Deep and Deep Publications, Pvt. Ltd.

2. Madhok, 2008. Trafficking women for domestic work. www.infochangeindia.org

3. Mathew, P.D., SJ. 2002. ’The minimum wages Act, 1948’, New Delhi: Legal, education, labour law, Indian social
institute.

4. Mehrotra, Surabhi Tandon and Mewa Bharti. 2008. Rights and dignity: Women domestic workers in Jaipur. New
Delhi: Jagori.

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10 Ajit K Bijjal & Dr. Robin Manohar
Shinde

5. Menon, Geeta. 2010. ‘Stree Jagruti Samiti: Spreading awareness among domestic workers’, Labour
File.Volume8, No.1-3, January-June: pp. 56-59.

6. Moghe, Kiran.2007. ‘Understanding the unorganized sector’, www.infochange.com

7. Mohan, Poornima. 2000. Encyclopaedia of Women Indian. Delhi: Publishers Distributors.

8. More, D.P. Singh. 2005. Women workers in unorganized sector women workers in the Brick Kiln Industry in
Haryana. India: Deep and Deep Publications Ltd.

9. Mukhim, Patricia. 2011. ‘Domestic workers for rights’, Calcutta, India: The Telegraph.

10. Murugaiah, K. 2002. ‘Women domestic workers’, Social Welfare, Vol.49, No. 2. 2541

11. Saradevi 1985: in her book “working conditions of female maidservants” page no 14 printed and published at
Sara printers and publishers in France

12. Sharanya Mathaji 2016 in her book titled “Maidservant’s Economic Conditions” page no 9 and 26 printed and
published at Lakshmi Printers and publishers, Bangalore

Impact Factor (JCC): 7.4543 NAAS Rating 3.51